Preferred soldering iron for working on an Atari Lynx?

[Daveb3274]

Hi all, was wondering if there were any recommendations out there for the best tools to work on an Atari Lynx with (e.g. soldering irons, pcb holder)? A while back I tried to upgrade the lcd on one of my Lynx II's and it didn't go so well. I'd replaced caps before and thought I could do it no problem (I was wrong). When I get some time I'd like to take another crack at it to see if I can get it going (I suspect I did not solder the new mosfet in correctly). I think some of the issue was my iron being a little to big for the lynx pcb - every other pcb I've worked on was a significantly larger. What size and or model works best for you? and is there a pcb holder anyone would recommend? Thanks

[battleman13]

What were you using before?

As I don't solder all that much (used to some arcade repair work, so maybe recapping a monitor and some other odds and ends work) I didn't invest in an expensive setup but I did find it worthwhile to pick up a hakko 936 clone soldering station on ebay. I got the Yihua 936 station for under $30 shipped and then picked up a set of like 7 or so different hakko tips that fit my cheap cloner station.

It works really well, the key being that I don't use it a lot and often and that I got the good hakko tips for the iron. The tips are the biggest thing, and the main benefit of the station is being able to finely tune the heat of your iron. Some work requires heat to be dialed back to be just hot enough, and you have to be careful not to heat any longer than necessary.

If your not using a station that offers the ability to control the temp, I'd recommend that. If you solder a lot, you might benefit from just buying a hakko station. I have maybe 15-20 hours of use on mine over the last 5 years and in that time the iron crapped out on me once. For $7 I was back and soldering again with a new replacement iron. I have some upcomming projects (sega game gear recap, soldering work on a genesis, perhaps a PS2 modchip) but it's all pretty light use for the iron.

 

Having a tip that is the right size (not too small or too big) and also the right shape for the work you are doing is key to good results and things going much easier for you.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

As was stated...getting an iron you can adjust the temps on is important. I actually have a legit Hakko 936 station that I use. The most difficult part on the lynx work, especially with the LCD upgrade is removing the old components and that one wire you have to solder to for the backlight button control. You want to get a smallish chisel tip for the iron for most work. Conical tips just don't give you enough surface area in one spot to heat everything quickly and properly so I never use them. For most of the Lynx work, I keep my iron at about 250 - 300 there abouts. Actually use that for most all work except for the ground planes that require more heat as they sink the heat away too quickly.

 

I don't normally need or use a PCB holder as I have an anti static mat I use for this work. But I do own an okay PCB holder. It was like $20 or less I think? Anyway, my only real issue with it, is that it is only about 6 - 8 inches tall and I do wish it were taller to accommodate larger PCBs. But for most stuff it is okay. Couldn't tell you exactly where I got that PCB holder from because like my Iron and later my desoldering iron, it was a fathers day present from my wife about 2 years ago.

[Daveb3274]

Thanks for all the input. The iron I had was an old Ungar, it actually came with our house. It still works and was fine for other stuff I've used it on, but those pcb's were a lot bigger. Thanks again

[Osgeld]

agree with crossbow, if it can set and maintain a temperature you will find its a whole different world

 

as far as big or small tips its kind of personal preference, I prefer a fairly big (I mean not like stain glass window makin big) flat tip kind of like what comes default on a 936D and still solder qfp's with it all day, some people love small tips for fine work but in reality once there's wet solder involved its not that tiny anymore and you have squat for heat transfer which is bad for boards and parts

 

anyway my point is its not really if you buy XYZ iron with ABC tip and set it EXACTLY to 123 you will be a soldering god, its mostly technique and practice, get something that you find reasonable in price (even the china no name ones are fairly decent) with a temp control and a liquid flux pin and I think you will be happier on how much easier things get

[CasetheCorvetteMan]

The most difficult part on the lynx work, especially with the LCD upgrade is removing the old components and that one wire you have to solder to for the backlight button control.

It's a shite sight easier than a 1 ASIC Game Gear!

[+-^CrossBow^-]

It's a shite sight easier than a 1 ASIC Game Gear!

Never said the GG was easier. I was basically saying that these LCD upgrades aren't for beginners that's all.

[CasetheCorvetteMan]

Never said the GG was easier. I was basically saying that these LCD upgrades aren't for beginners that's all.

Yes i know that, but in the grand scheme of things, the LYNX is pretty easy to do really. Obviously some skill is required yes, a bit of practice on a circuit board youll never use again would be a good way to start.